Uncorrected proof edition, obtained from the nice people at Canongate, via the "First Reads" comp on the Goodreads.com website. Because it is a proof copy, any further reviews should heed the review request: "These proofs are uncorrected and that substantial changes may be made before this book is printed. If any material from the book is quoted in a review, please check it in the text of the final bound book"[return][return]Excellent book, starting with a brief detailing of the growing up of Daniel Rooke and his joining of the British Navy as a marine (although really brought on board to make use of his navigational skills).[return][return]After several years, he arrives in New South Wales and sets up camp in an attempt to find Halley's comet. He soon comes in contact with the natives and begins to win their trust, and starts learning their language, especially via his relationship with one young girl. This relationship is not only important from a linguistics point of view, but makes Rooke learn more about himself and what he is prepared to accept as a right as a human being. His decisions then affect the rest of his life ( )

Not my usual kind of book, but I liked it. Kinda felt like a YA book. Liked imagining how people can puzzle out each other's language. ( )

Another enjoyable Grenville novel on theme of worlds apart, England with its civilisation, class and colonialism, and Australia with its Aboriginal land and people. The story, based on fact, and, in the words of the author, on 'a nerdy young lieutenant from Portsmouth, keen on astronomy and Latin' (page 311), highlights the alienation and separation. It is the hero, alienated himself though his own character, who develops a relationship with an aboriginal child. It is fascinating to see how this develops and is interpreted with its focus on trying to understand the language of the people, the theme of 'worlds apart' demonstrated through words that cannot be translated when basic concepts and principles are not shared. ( )

book club. New South Wales and aboriginal language learning. ( )

I read and loved Grenville’s The Secret River some years ago, so when The Lieutenant caught my eye, it was a natural next-read.

Danielle Rooke, an always-awkward youngster and young man, finds his place in science – astronomy, precisely. He enlists in His Majesty’s service and is sent to New South Wales with a cargo of convicts. There he will, among his other duties, chart the stars. But it is his relationship with the aborigines – in particular his remarkable connection with one young girl, Tagaran – that changes his life forever, in ways he could never have imagined.

Wonderful writing, a period in history that intrigues, and characters that will be with me a long time. Highly recommended!

Notable Quotes:
“This was the first time they had seen a teacup or a fork. The only time they would need to taste a china plate. It would never again be the first time. Rooke was aware of witnessing something unrepeatable and irreversible. He was watching one universe in the act of encountering another.” (137)

“A boundary was being crossed and erased. Like ink in water, one language was melting into another.” (178) ( )